Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor device comprises a first MOSFET and a second MOSFET. The first MOSFET includes a first gate insulating film formed on a semiconductor substrate and having a relatively large thickness and a first gate electrode composed of a polysilicon film formed on the first gate insulating film. The second MOSFET includes a second gate insulating film formed on the semiconductor substrate and having a relatively small thickness and a second gate electrode composed of a metal film made of a refractory metal or a compound of a refractory metal and formed on the second gate insulating film.

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 09/433,221, filedNov. 4, 1999.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device comprisingMOSFETs having respective gate insulating films with differentthicknesses and to a method of manufacturing the same.

As higher-speed operations have been achieved in recent semiconductorintegrated circuit devices, the thickness of the gate insulating film ofa MOSFET has been reduced increasingly.

On the other hand, a lower driving voltage has been pursued for a logiccircuit in a semiconductor integrated circuit with the view to loweringthe power consumption of the semiconductor integrated circuit device. Inthe peripheral circuit of the logic circuit for performing input/outputoperations, however, it is necessary to drive a MOSFET with a voltageinputted from the outside. To hold its breakdown voltage high,therefore, a transistor provided in the peripheral circuit of the logiccircuit uses a gate insulating film having a larger thickness than atransistor provided in the internal circuit of the logic circuit.

A description will be given to a method of manufacturing MOSFETs havingrespective gate insulating films with different thicknesses.

First, as shown in FIG. 10(a), isolation region 11 are formed in asemiconductor substrate 10 made of silicon, followed by a first siliconoxide film 12 a with a thickness of, e.g., 4 nm formed over the entiresurface of the semiconductor substrate 10 to serve as a gate insulatingfilm. Thereafter, a resist pattern 13 is formed on the portion of thefirst silicon oxide film 12 a corresponding to the peripheral circuitregion of a logic circuit. Wet etching is then performed by using, e.g.,hydrofluoric acid with respect to the first silicon oxide film 12 a,thereby selectively removing the portion of the first silicon oxide film12 a corresponding to the internal circuit region of the logic circuit.

Next, as shown in FIG. 10(b), a second silicon oxide film 12 b with athickness of, e.g., 3 nm is formed over the entire surface of thesemiconductor substrate 10.

Next, as shown in FIG. 10(c), a first gate insulating film 14A composedof the second silicon oxide film 12 b and a first gate electrode 15Acomposed of a polysilicon film are formed in the internal circuit regionof the logic circuit, while a second gate insulating film 14B composedof the first and second silicon oxide films 12 a and 12 b and a secondgate electrode 15B composed of the polysilicon film are formed in theperipheral circuit region of the logic circuit.

Next, an impurity is implanted by using the first and second gateelectrodes 15A and 15B as a mask to form lightly doped regions 16. Then,sidewalls 17 are formed on each of the first and second gate electrodes15A and 15B. After that, an impurity is implanted by using, as a mask,the first and second gate electrodes 15A and 15B and the sidewalls toform heavily doped regions 18.

As a result, a first MOSFET including the first gate insulating film 14Acomposed of the second silicon oxide film 12 b and having a thickness of3 nm is obtained in the internal circuit region of the logic circuit,while a second MOSFET including the second gate insulating film 14Bcomposed of the first and second silicon oxide films 12 a and 12 b andhaving a thickness of 7 nm is obtained in the peripheral circuit regionof the logic circuit.

In accordance with the conventional method of manufacturing asemiconductor device, however, the second gate insulating film 14Bobtained in the peripheral circuit of the logic circuit is formed in twoseparate steps, so that it is difficult for the second gate insulatingfilm 14B to have a lifespan which is as long as the lifespan of a gateoxide film obtained in one oxidation step. This is because the secondsilicon oxide film 12 b composing the second gate insulating film 14B isformed on the first silicon oxide film 12 a after the resist pattern 13is removed. Since the surface of the first silicon oxide film 12 a hasbeen contaminated or damaged in the step of removing the resist pattern13, the reliability of the gate insulating film 14B is degraded.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing, it is therefore an object of the presentinvention to improve the reliability of each of first and second gateinsulating films having different thicknesses.

A first semiconductor device according to the present inventioncomprises a first MOSFET and a second MOSFET, the first MOSFETincluding: a first gate insulating film formed on a semiconductorsubstrate and having a relatively large thickness; and a first gateelectrode composed of a polysilicon film formed on the first gateinsulating film, the second MOSFET including: a second gate insulatingfilm formed on the semiconductor substrate and having a relatively smallthickness; and a second gate electrode composed of a metal film made ofa refractory metal or a compound of a refractory metal and formed on thesecond gate insulating film.

In the first semiconductor device, the first gate insulating film of thefirst MOSFET has a relatively large thickness. Accordingly, the firstMOSFET can be driven with a high voltage.

On the other hand, the second gate insulating film of the second MOSFEThas a relatively small thickness. Accordingly, the second MOSFET can bedriven with a low voltage so that power consumption is reduced. Sincethe second gate electrode is composed of the metal film made of arefractory metal or a compound of a refractory metal, the depletion ofthe second gate electrode can be prevented and the performance of thesecond MOSFET is improved.

With the first semiconductor device, therefore, the first MOSFET can bedriven with a high voltage, while the second MOSFET can be driven with alow voltage and the depletion of the second gate electrode at theinterface between itself and the gate insulating film is prevented. Thisincreases the performance of the gate electrode and allows the formationof the two MOSFETs, of which different performances are required, on asingle semiconductor substrate with high reliability.

In the first semiconductor device, the first MOSFET is preferably formedin a region of the semiconductor substrate corresponding to a peripheralcircuit region of a logic circuit and the second MOSFET is preferablyformed in a region of the semiconductor substrate corresponding to aninternal circuit region of the logic circuit.

The arrangement enables driving with a high voltage which is required inthe peripheral circuit of the logic circuit as well as driving with alow voltage which is required in the internal circuit of the logiccircuit, while increasing the performance of the transistors.

In the first semiconductor device, the first MOSFET is preferably formedin a memory cell region of the semiconductor substrate and the secondMOSFET is preferably formed in a logic circuit region of thesemiconductor substrate.

The arrangement prevents a reduction in pause time (charge retentiontime of one memory cell) resulting from a leakage current, which isrequired in the memory cell, while increasing the performance of theMOSFETs, which is required in the logic circuit.

Preferably, the first semiconductor device further comprises a resistorcomposed of a polysilicon film formed in the step of forming thepolysilicon film composing the first gate electrode. In the arrangement,a resistor can be provided without increasing the number of processsteps.

In the first semiconductor device, the first gate insulating film ispreferably composed of a silicon oxide film and the second gateinsulating film is preferably composed of a silicon oxynitride film.

This further reduces the thickness of the second gate insulating filmand increases the reliability thereof, thereby increasing theperformance of the second MOSFET.

A second semiconductor device according to the present inventioncomprises a first MOSFET and a second MOSFET, the first MOSFETincluding: a first gate insulating film formed on a semiconductorsubstrate and having a relatively large thickness; and a first gateelectrode composed of a multilayer structure formed on the first gateinsulating film, the multilayer structure being composed of alower-layer polysilicon film and an upper-layer metal film made of arefractory metal or a compound of a refractory metal, the second MOSFETincluding: a second gate insulating film formed on the semiconductorsubstrate and having a relatively small thickness; and a second gateelectrode composed of a metal film made of a refractory metal or acompound of a refractory metal and formed on the second gate insulatingfilm.

In the second semiconductor device, the first gate insulating film ofthe first MOSFET has a relatively large thickness and the first gateelectrode is composed of the multilayer structure consisting of thepolysilicon film and the metal film. Accordingly, the gate electrode canbe reduced in resistance and increased in breakdown voltage.

Since the second gate insulating film of the second MOSFET has arelatively small thickness, it can be driven with a low voltage so thatpower consumption is reduced. Since the second gate electrode iscomposed of the metal film made of a refractory metal or a compound of arefractory metal, the depletion of the second gate electrode can beprevented and the performance of the second MOSFET is improved.

With the second semiconductor device, therefore, the gate electrode ofthe first MOSFET can be reduced in resistance and increased in breakdownvoltage, while the second MOSFET can be driven with a low voltage andthe depletion of the second gate electrode at the interface betweenitself and the gate insulating film is prevented. This increases theperformance of the gate electrode and allows the formation of the twoMOSFETs, of which different performances are required, on a singlesemiconductor substrate with high reliability.

In the second semiconductor device, the first MOSFET is preferablyformed in a memory cell region of the semiconductor substrate and thesecond MOSFET is preferably formed in a logic circuit region of thesemiconductor substrate.

In the arrangement, the gate electrode can be reduced in resistance andincreased in breakdown voltage in the memory cell region, while thetransistor can be increased in performance in the logic circuit.

A first method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to thepresent invention comprises: a first film forming step of successivelyforming, on a semiconductor substrate, a first insulating film having arelatively large thickness and a polysilicon film; a patterning step ofpatterning the polysilicon film and the first insulating film to form afirst gate insulating film of a first MOSFET and a dummy gate insulatingfilm, each being composed of the first insulating film, and to form afirst gate electrode of the first MOSFET and a dummy gate electrode,each being composed of the polysilicon film; a sidewall forming step offorming sidewalls on each of the first gate electrode and the dummy gateelectrode; an insulating film removing step of depositing an interlayerinsulating film over the entire surface of the semiconductor substrate,removing the portions of the interlayer insulating film overlying thefirst gate electrode and the dummy gate electrode, and thereby exposingthe first gate electrode and the dummy gate electrode; an etching stepof forming, on the interlayer insulating film, a mask pattern coveringthe first gate electrode and exposing the dummy gate electrode,performing etching by using the mask pattern to remove the dummy gateelectrode and the dummy gate insulating film, and thereby forming adepressed portion internally of the sidewalls of the dummy gateelectrode; a second film forming step of successively forming, over theentire surface of the semiconductor substrate, a second insulating filmhaving a relative small thickness and a metal film made of a refractorymetal or a compound of a refractory metal such that the depressedportion is filled therewith; and a film removing step of removing themask pattern and the portions of the second insulating film and themetal film located externally of the depressed portion and therebyforming a second gate insulating film of a second MOSFET composed of thesecond insulating film and a second gate electrode of the second MOSFETcomposed of the metal film.

In accordance with the first method of manufacturing a semiconductordevice, the polysilicon film and the first insulating film having arelatively large thickness are patterned to form the first gateinsulating film of the first MOSFET composed of the first insulatingfilm and the first gate electrode of the first MOSFET composed of thepolysilicon film. Accordingly, there can be formed the first MOSFEThaving the first gate insulating film with a relatively large thicknessand the second gate electrode composed of the polysilicon film.

On the other hand, the second insulating film having a relatively smallthickness and the metal film are filled in the depressed portion formedas a result of removing the dummy gate electrode and the dummy gateinsulating film to form the second gate insulating film of the secondMOSFET composed of the second insulating film and the second gateelectrode of the second MOSFET composed of the metal film. Accordingly,there can be formed the second MOSFET having the second insulating filmwith a relatively small thickness and the second gate electrode composedof the metal film.

In accordance with the first method of manufacturing a semiconductordevice, therefore, the first MOSFET having the first gate insulatingfilm with a relatively large thickness, the first gate electrodecomposed of the polysilicon film, the second MOSFET having the secondgate insulating film with a relatively small thickness, and the secondgate electrode composed of the metal film can be formed on a singlesemiconductor substrate. This ensures the formation of the two MOSFETs,of which different performances are required, on a single semiconductorsubstrate with high reliability.

Since the first gate insulating film of the first MOSFET is formed bypatterning the first insulating film formed in one step, the reliabilitythereof is improved compared with a conventional gate insulating filmformed in two steps.

In the first method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, thepatterning step preferably includes the step of forming the first gateinsulating film and the first gate electrode on a region of thesemiconductor substrate corresponding to a peripheral circuit region ofa logic circuit and forming the dummy insulating film and the dummy gateelectrode on a region of the semiconductor substrate corresponding to aninternal circuit region of the logic circuit.

This allows the formation the first MOSFET which can be driven with ahigh voltage in the peripheral circuit of the logic circuit and theformation of the higher-performance second MOSFET which can be drivenwith a low voltage in the internal circuit of the logic circuit.

In the first method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, thepatterning step preferably includes the step of forming the first gateinsulating film and the first gate electrode on a memory cell region ofthe semiconductor substrate and forming the dummy insulating film andthe dummy gate electrode on a logic circuit region of the semiconductorsubstrate.

In the arrangement, the first MOSFET capable of preventing a reductionin pause time resulting from a leakage current can be formed in thememory cell region and the high-performance second MOSFET can be formedin the logic circuit.

In the first method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, thepatterning step preferably includes the step of patterning thepolysilicon film and the first insulating film to form a resistorinsulating film composed of the first insulating film and a resistorcomposed of the polysilicon film.

This allows the formation of a resistor without increasing the number ofprocess steps.

In the first method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, the firstfilm forming step preferably includes the step of forming a siliconoxide film as the first insulating film and the second film forming steppreferably includes the step of forming a silicon oxynitride film as thesecond insulating film.

This further reduces the thickness of the second insulating film andincreases the reliability thereof, thereby further increasing theperformance of the second MOSFET.

In the first method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, the etchingstep preferably includes the step of removing the dummy gate electrodeand the dummy gate insulating film by wet etching.

This prevents the region of the semiconductor substrate, which is toserve as the channel, from being damaged.

A second method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to thepresent invention comprises: a first film forming step of successivelyforming, on a semiconductor substrate, a first insulating film having arelatively large thickness and a polysilicon film; a first patterningstep of patterning the polysilicon film and the first insulating film toform a first-layer gate insulating film of a flash memory and a dummygate insulating film, each being composed of the first insulating film,and to form a floating gate electrode of the flash memory and a dummygate electrode, each being composed of the polysilicon film; a sidewallforming step of forming sidewalls on each of the floating gate electrodeand the dummy gate electrode; an insulating film removing step ofdepositing an interlayer insulating film over the entire surface of thesemiconductor substrate, removing the portions of the interlayerinsulating film overlying the floating gate electrode and the dummy gateelectrode, and thereby exposing the floating gate electrode and thedummy gate electrode; an etching step of forming, on the interlayerinsulating film, a second insulating film covering the floating gateelectrode and exposing the dummy gate electrode, performing etching byusing the insulating film to remove the dummy gate electrode and thedummy gate insulating film, and thereby forming a depressed portioninternally of the sidewalls of the dummy gate electrode; a second filmforming step of successively forming, over the entire surface of thesemiconductor substrate, a third insulating film having a relativelysmall thickness and a metal film made of a refractory metal or acompound of a refractory metal such that the depressed portion is filledtherewith; and a second patterning step of patterning the secondinsulating film, the third insulating film, and the metal film to form asecond-layer gate insulating film of the flash memory composed of thesecond and third insulating films, a gate insulating film of a MOSFETcomposed of the third insulating film, a control electrode of the flashmemory composed of the metal film, and a gate electrode of the MOSFETcomposed of the metal film.

In accordance with the second method of manufacturing a semiconductordevice, the first insulating film having a relatively large thickness ispatterned in the first patterning step to form the first-layer gateinsulating film of the flash memory and the second and third insulatingfilms are patterned in the second patterning step to form thesecond-layer gate insulating film of the flash memory. Briefly, thefirst-layer and second-layer gate insulating films have sufficientlylarge thicknesses, so that the reliability of the flash memory isimproved.

On the other hand, the third insulating film with a relatively smallthickness and the metal film are filled in the depressed portion formedas a result of removing the dummy gate electrode and the dummy gateinsulating film to form the insulating film of the MOSFET composed ofthe third insulating film and the gate electrode of the MOSFET composedof the metal film. Accordingly, there can be formed the MOSFET havingthe gate insulating film with a relatively small thickness and the gateelectrode composed of the metal film.

Since the second method of manufacturing a semiconductor device allowsthe formation of the flash memory having the first-layer gate insulatingfilm with a large thickness and the second-layer gate insulating filmcomposed of the multilayer structure consisting of the second and thirdinsulating films, the reliability of the flash memory is improved.

Since the second method of manufacturing a semiconductor device alsoallows the formation of the MOSFET having the gate insulating film witha relatively small thickness and the gate electrode composed of themetal film, the performance of the MOSFET can be improved. Since thegate insulating film of the MOSFET is formed by patterning the firstinsulating film formed in one step, the reliability thereof is improvedcompared with a conventional gate insulating film formed in two steps.

In the second method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, theetching step preferably includes the step of removing the dummy gateelectrode and the dummy gate insulating film by wet etching.

This prevents the region of the semiconductor substrate, which is toserve as the channel, from being damaged.

In the second method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, the firstpatterning step preferably includes the step of patterning thepolysilicon film and the first insulating film to form a capacitorinsulating film composed of the first insulating film and a capacitorlower electrode composed of the polysilicon film and the secondpatterning step preferably includes the step of patterning the secondinsulating film, the third insulating film, and the metal film to form acapacitor insulating film composed of the second and third insulatingfilms and a capacitor upper electrode composed of the metal film.

This allows the formation of a capacitor with high reliability withoutincreasing the number of process steps.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) cross-sectional views illustrating the individualprocess steps of a method of manufacturing a semiconductor deviceaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 2(a) to 2(c) are cross-sectional views illustrating the individualprocess steps of the method of manufacturing a semiconductor deviceaccording to the first embodiment;

FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b) are cross-sectional views illustrating theindividual process steps of the method of manufacturing a semiconductordevice according to the first embodiment;

FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) are cross-sectional views illustrating theindividual process steps of a method of manufacturing a semiconductordevice according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b) are cross-sectional views illustrating theindividual process steps of the method of manufacturing a semiconductordevice according to the second embodiment;

FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b) are cross-sectional views illustrating theindividual process steps of the method of manufacturing a semiconductordevice according to the second embodiment;

FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b) are cross-sectional views illustrating theindividual process steps of a method of manufacturing a semiconductordevice according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 8(a) and 8(b) are cross-sectional views illustrating theindividual process steps of the method of manufacturing a semiconductordevice according to the third embodiment;

FIGS. 9(a) and 9(b) are cross-sectional views illustrating theindividual process steps of the method of manufacturing a semiconductordevice according to the third embodiment; and

FIGS. 10(a) to 10(c) are cross-sectional views illustrating theindividual process steps of a conventional method of manufacturing asemiconductor device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION EMBODIMENT 1

As a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to a firstembodiment of the present invention, there will be described a method offorming a first MOSFET and a resistor in a logic peripheral circuitregion for performing input/output operations in a logic circuit andforming a second MOSFET in a logic internal circuit region forperforming arithmetic operations in the logic circuit with reference toFIGS. 1(a) and 1(b), 2(a), 2(b) and 2(c), and 3(a) and 3(b).

First, as shown in FIG. 1(a), isolation regions 101 are formed in asurface region of a semiconductor substrate 100 made of silicon.Subsequently, a first silicon oxide film having a thickness of, e.g., 7nm and a polysilicon film having a thickness of, e.g., 120 nm and dopedwith an impurity are formed successively over the entire surface of thesemiconductor substrate 100. Then, the polysilicon film and the firstsilicon oxide film are patterned successively to form a first gateinsulating film 102A composed of the first silicon oxide film and afirst gate electrode 103A composed of the polysilicon film in the MOSFETformation area of the logic peripheral circuit region, to form a dummygate insulating film 102B composed of the first silicon oxide film and adummy gate electrode 103B composed of the polysilicon film in the logicinternal circuit region, and to form a resistor insulating film 102Ccomposed of the first silicon oxide film and a resistor 103C composed ofthe polysilicon film in the resistor formation area of the logicperipheral circuit region.

Next, an impurity is implanted by using the first gate electrode 103Aand the dummy gate electrode 103B as a mask to form lightly dopedregions 104. Thereafter, sidewalls 105 are formed on each of the firstgate electrode 103A, the dummy gate electrode 103B, and the resistor103C. Then, an impurity is implanted by using the first gate electrode103A, the dummy gate electrode 103B, and the sidewalls 105 as a mask toform heavily doped regions 106 which are to serve as a source and adrain. After that, a first interlayer insulating film 107 composed of asilicon oxide film with a thickness of, e.g., 400 nm is deposited by,e.g., chemical vapor deposition (CVD) over the entire surface of thesemiconductor substrate 100.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1(b), the first interlayer insulating film 107 isplanarized by, e.g., chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) and therespective top surfaces of the first gate electrode 103A, the dummy gateelectrode 103B, and the resistor 103C are exposed. Thereafter, a siliconnitride film 108 with a thickness of, e.g., 50 nm is deposited over theentire surface of the semiconductor substrate 100.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2(a), a resist pattern 109 covering a logicperipheral circuit is formed on the silicon nitride film 108.Subsequently, etching is performed with respect to the silicon nitridefilm 108 masked with the resist pattern 109 to form a mask pattern 110composed of the silicon nitride film 108.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2(b), after removing the resist pattern 109, thedummy gate electrode 103B is removed by wet etching using an etchantsolution composed of an alkaline solution such as KOH. Thereafter, thedummy gate insulating film 102B is removed by wet etching using anetchant solution composed of a HF solution, whereby a depressed portion111 is formed internally of the sidewalls 105 in the logic internalcircuit region.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2(c), a second silicon oxide film 112 with athickness of, e.g., 3 nm is formed over the entire surface of thesemiconductor substrate 100. Then, a first metal film 113 made of acompound of a refractory metal such as tungsten nitride and having athickness of about 10 nm is deposited by, e.g., CVD over the entiresurface of the second silicon oxide film 112. Thereafter, a second metalfilm 114 made of, e.g., tungsten and having a thickness of about 120 nmis deposited by, e.g., CVD over the entire surface of the first metalfilm 113.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3(a), a planarization step is performed withrespect to the second metal film 114, the first metal film 113, and themask pattern 110 by, e.g., CMP, thereby forming a second gate insulatingfilm 115 composed of the second silicon oxide film 112, a barrier metal116 composed of the first metal film 113, and a second gate electrode117 composed of the second metal film 114 in the depressed portion 111internal of the sidewalls 105. Preferably, a slurry with littleselectivity between the first and second metal films 113 and 114 and themask pattern 110 (silicon nitride film 108) is used in the planarizationstep.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3(b), a second interlayer insulating film 118composed of a silicon oxide film is deposited over the entire surface ofthe semiconductor substrate 100 and then planarized by, e.g., CMP. Next,first contacts 119 connected to the heavily doped region 106 are formedthrough the second interlayer insulating film 118,while second contacts120 connected to the resistor 103C are formed. Thereafter, a metal wire121 connected to the first and second contacts 119 and 120 is formed,whereby the first MOSFET and resistor are formed in the logic peripheralcircuit region and a second MOSFET is formed in the logic internalcircuit region.

According to the first embodiment, the first MOSFET having the firstgate insulating film 102A composed of the first silicon oxide film witha thickness of 7 nm is formed in one step in the logic peripheralcircuit region, while the second MOSFET having the second gateinsulating film 115 composed of the second silicon oxide film 112 with athickness of 3 nm is formed in one step in the logic internal circuitregion. In short, each of the first and second gate insulating films102A and 115 is formed in one step, so that the reliability thereof isimproved compared with a conventional gate insulating film formed in twosteps.

Moreover, the second gate electrode 117 formed in the logic internalcircuit region and therefore required of high performance can be formedof the second metal film 114 having a low resistance value and lesslikely to have a depletion layer formed at the interface between itselfand the gate insulating film.

On the other hand, the first gate electrode 103A formed in the logicperipheral circuit region and therefore not required of high performancecan be formed simultaneously with the resistor 103C which requires acertain value of resistance in a single step. This allows the resistor103C to be formed without increasing the number of steps.

Although the mask pattern 110 has covered the entire logic peripheralcircuit region in the first embodiment, it is sufficient for the maskpattern 110 to cover at least the first gate electrode 102A.

Although the second gate insulating film 115 has been formed of thesecond silicon oxide film 112, a silicon oxynitride film may also beused instead.

Although the second gate electrode 117 has been formed of the secondmetal film 114 made of tungsten, another metal film composed ofaluminum, copper, molybdenum, tungsten silicide, or a metal compound ofany one of the foregoing metals may also be used instead.

EMBODIMENT 2

As a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to asecond embodiment of the present invention, there will be described amethod of forming a first MOSFET in a memory circuit region and a secondMOSFET in a logic circuit region with reference to FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b),5(a) and 5(b), and 6(a) and 6(b).

First, as shown in FIG. 4(a), isolation regions 201 are formed in asurface region of a semiconductor substrate 200 made of silicon. Then, afirst silicon oxide film having a thickness of, e.g., 7 nm, apolysilicon film doped with an impurity and having a thickness on theorder of, e.g., 50 nm, and a first metal film made of a compound of arefractory metal such as tungsten silicide are formed successively overthe entire surface of the semiconductor substrate 200. Subsequently, thefirst metal film, the polysilicon film, and the first silicon oxide filmare patterned successively, thereby forming a first gate insulating film202A composed of the first silicon oxide film and a first gate electrodecomposed of a multilayer structure consisting of the polysilicon film203A and the first metal film 204A in the memory circuit region, whileforming a dummy gate insulating film 202B composed of the first siliconoxide film and a dummy gate electrode composed of a multilayer structureconsisting of the polysilicon film 203B and the first metal film 204B inthe logic circuit region.

Next, an impurity is implanted by using the first gate electrode (203A,204A) and the dummy gate electrode (203B, 204B) as a mask to formlightly doped regions 205. Then, sidewalls 206 are formed on each of thefirst gate electrode (203A, 204A) and the dummy gate electrode (203B,204B). Subsequently, an impurity is implanted by using the first gateelectrode (203A, 204A), the dummy gate electrode (203B, 204B), and thesidewalls 206 as a mask to form heavily doped regions 207 which are toserve as a source and a drain. After that, an interlayer insulating film208 composed of a silicon oxide film with a thickness of, e.g., 500 nmis formed by, e.g., CVD over the entire surface of the semiconductorsubstrate 200.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4(b), the interlayer insulating film 208 isplanarized by, e.g., CMP to expose the respective top surfaces of thefirst gate electrode (203A, 204A) and the dummy gate electrode (203B,204B). Then, a silicon nitride film 209 with a thickness of, e.g., 50 nmis deposited over the entire surface of the semiconductor substrate 200.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5(a), a resist pattern 210 covering the memorycell region is formed on the silicon nitride film 209. Subsequently,etching is performed with respect to the silicon nitride film 209 maskedwith the resist pattern 210 to form a mask pattern 211 composed of thesilicon nitride film 209.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5(b), after removing the resist pattern 210, thefirst metal film 204B is removed by wet etching using an etchantsolution composed of a solution mixture of sulfuric acid and aqueoushydrogen peroxide. Thereafter, the polysilicon film 203B is removed bywet etching using an etchant solution composed of an alkaline solutionsuch as KOH. After that, the dummy gate insulating film 202B is removedby wet etching using an etchant solution composed of a HF solution,whereby a depressed portion 212 is formed internally of the sidewalls206 in the logic circuit region.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6(a), a second silicon oxide film 213 with athickness of, e.g., 3 nm is formed over the entire surface of thesemiconductor substrate 200. Thereafter, a second metal film 214composed of a compound of a refractory metal such as tungsten nitrideand having a thickness of about 10 nm is deposited over the entiresurface of the second silicon oxide film 213. Subsequently, a thirdmetal film 215 composed of tungsten and having a thickness of about 120nm is deposited by, e.g., CVD over the entire surface of the secondmetal film 214.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6(b), planarization is performed with respect tothe third metal film 215, the second metal film 214, and the maskpattern 211 by, e.g., CMP till the top surface of the first gateelectrode (203A, 204A) is exposed, thereby forming a second gateinsulating film 216 composed of the second silicon oxide film 213, abarrier metal 217 composed of the second metal film 214, and a secondgate electrode 218 composed of the third metal film 215 in the depressedportion 212 internal of the sidewalls 206 in the logic circuit region.Preferably, a slurry with little selectivity between the second andthird metal films 214 and 215 and the mask pattern 211 composed of thesilicon nitride film 209 is used in the planarization step.

According to the second embodiment, the first MOSFET having the firstgate insulating film 202A composed of the first silicon oxide film witha thickness of 7 nm is formed in one step in the memory circuit region,while the second MOSFET having the second gate insulating film 216composed of the second silicon oxide film 213 with a thickness of 3 nmis formed in one step in the logic circuit region. In short, each of thefirst and second gate insulating films 202A and 216 is formed in onestep, so that the reliability thereof is improved compared with aconventional gate insulating film formed in two steps.

Moreover, the second gate electrode 218 formed in the logic circuitregion and therefore required of high performance can be formed of thethird metal film 218 having a low resistance value and less likely tohave a depletion layer formed at the interface between itself and thegate insulating film.

On the other hand, the first gate electrode formed in the memory circuitregion and therefore not required of high performance can be formed ofthe multilayer structure consisting of the polysilicon film 203A and thefirst metal film 204A.

Since the second MOSFET having the second gate insulating film 216composed of the second silicon oxide film 213 with a relatively smallthickness and the second gate electrode 218 composed of the third metalfilm 218 with a low resistance is provided in the logic circuit region,the second embodiment enables the formation of a merged DRAM/LOGIC LSIwith high reliability.

Since the first MOSFET having the first gate electrode composed of themultilayer structure consisting of the polysilicon film 203A and thefirst metal film 204A is provided, the second embodiment can also reducethe resistance value of the gate electrode compared with the firstembodiment.

EMBODIMENT 3

As a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to a thirdembodiment of the present invention, there will be described a method offorming a flash memory and a capacitor in a memory circuit and a MOSFETin a logic circuit with reference to FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b), 8(a) and 8(b),and 9(a) and 9(b).

First, as shown in FIG. 7(a), isolation regions 301 are formed in asurface region of a semiconductor substrate 300 made of silicon. Then, afirst silicon oxide film having a thickness of, e.g., 7 nm and apolysilicon film doped with an impurity and having a thickness of, e.g.,120 nm are formed successively over the entire surface of thesemiconductor substrate 300. Subsequently, the polysilicon film and thefirst silicon oxide film are patterned successively to form afirst-layer gate insulating film 302A composed of the first siliconoxide film and a floating gate electrode 303A composed of thepolysilicon film in the flash memory formation area of a memory cellregion, to form a dummy gate insulating film 302B composed of the firstsilicon oxide film and a dummy gate electrode 303B composed of thepolysilicon film in a logic circuit region, and to form a capacitorinsulating film 302C composed of the first silicon oxide film and acapacitor lower electrode 303C composed of the polysilicon film in thecapacitor formation area of the memory cell region.

Next, an impurity is implanted by using the floating gate electrode 303Aand the dummy gate electrode 303B as a mask to form lightly dopedregions 304. Then, sidewalls 305 are formed on each of the floating gateelectrode 303A, the dummy gate electrode 303B, and the capacitor lowerelectrode 303C. Subsequently, an impurity is implanted by using thefloating gate electrode 303A, the dummy gate electrode 303B, and thesidewalls 305 as a mask to form heavily doped regions 306 which are toserve as a source and a drain. After that, an interlayer insulating film307 composed of a silicon oxide film with a thickness of, e.g., 400 nmis formed by, e.g., CVD over the entire surface of the semiconductorsubstrate 300.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7(b), the interlayer insulating film 307 isplanarized by, e.g., CMP to expose the respective top surfaces of thefloating gate electrode 303A, the dummy gate electrode 303B, and thecapacitor lower electrode 303C. Then, a silicon nitride film 308 with athickness of, e.g., 10 nm is deposited over the entire surface of thesemiconductor substrate 300.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8(a), a resist pattern 309 covering the memorycell region is formed on the silicon nitride film 308. Subsequently,etching is performed with respect to the silicon nitride film 308 maskedwith the resist pattern 309 to form a mask pattern 310 composed of thesilicon nitride film 308.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8(b), after removing the resist pattern 309, thedummy gate electrode 303B is removed by wet etching using an etchantsolution composed of an alkaline solution such as KOH. Thereafter, thedummy gate insulating film 302B is removed by wet etching using anetchant solution composed of a HF solution, whereby the depressedportion 311 is formed internally of the sidewalls 305 in the logiccircuit region. Preferably, an etchant solution which does not removethe mask pattern 310 is used in the wet etching step.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9(a), a second silicon oxide film 312 with athickness of, e.g., 3 nm is formed over the entire surface of thesemiconductor substrate 300. Then, a first metal film 313 composed of acompound of a refractory metal such as tungsten nitride and having athickness of about 10 nm is deposited by, e.g., CVD over the entiresurface of the second silicon oxide film 312. Subsequently, a secondmetal film 314 composed of, e.g., tungsten and having a thickness ofabout 120 nm is deposited by, e.g., CVD over the entire surface of thefirst metal film 313.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9(b), the second metal film 314, the first metalfilm 313, the second silicon oxide film 312, and the mask pattern 310(silicon nitride film 308) are patterned into predeterminedconfigurations to form a second-layer gate insulating film 315 composedof the silicon nitride film 308 and the second silicon oxide film 312, afirst barrier metal 316 composed of the first metal film 313, and acontrol electrode 317 composed of the second metal film 314 in the flashmemory formation area of the memory cell region, to form a gateinsulating film 318 composed of the second silicon oxide film 312, asecond barrier metal 319 composed of the first metal film 313, and agate electrode 320 composed of the second metal film 314 in the logiccircuit region, and to form a capacitor insulating film 321 composed ofthe silicon nitride film 308 and the second silicon oxide film 312, athird barrier metal 322 composed of the first metal film 313, and acapacitor upper electrode 323 composed of the second metal film 314 inthe capacitor formation area of the memory cell region.

According to the third embodiment, the first-layer gate insulating film320A of the flash memory composed of the first silicon oxide film with athickness of 7 nm is formed in one step in the memory cell region, sothat the reliability thereof is improved. Since the second-layer gateinsulating film 315 is composed of a multilayer structure consisting ofthe silicon nitride film 308 and the second silicon oxide film 312, thereliability thereof and the reliability of the flash memory areimproved.

Since the MOSFET having the gate insulating film 318 composed of thesecond silicon oxide film 312 with a thickness of 3 nm is formed in onestep in the logic circuit region, the reliability thereof is improvedcompared with a conventional gate insulating film formed in two steps.

Moreover, the gate electrode 320 of the MOSFET formed in the logiccircuit region and therefore required of high performance is formed ofthe second metal film 314 having a low resistance value and having nodepletion layer at the interface between itself and the gate insulatingfilm.

On the other hand, the capacitor insulating film 321 composing thecapacitor is formed of the multilayer structure consisting of thesilicon nitride film 308 and the second silicon oxide film 312, whichensures the reliability of the capacitor.

Furthermore, the capacitor can be formed in the memory cell regionwithout increasing the number of process steps since the floating gateelectrode 303A and the capacitor lower electrode 303C can be formed inone step, the second-layer gate insulating film 315 and the capacitorinsulating film 321 can be formed in one step, and the control electrode317 and the capacitor upper electrode 323 can be formed in one step.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device,the method comprising a first film forming step of successively forming,on a semiconductor substrate, a first insulating film having arelatively large thickness and a polysilicon film; a first patterningstep of patterning the polysilicon film and the first insulating film toform a first-layer gate insulating film of a flash memory and a dummygate insulating film, each being composed of the first insulating film,and to form a floating gate electrode of the flash memory and a dummygate electrode, each being composed of the polysilicon film; a sidewallforming step of forming sidewalls on each of the floating gate electrodeand the dummy gate electrode; an insulating film removing step ofdepositing an interlayer insulating film over the entire surface of thesemiconductor substrate, removing the portions of the interlayerinsulating film overlying the floating gate electrode and the dummy gateelectrode, and thereby exposing the floating gate electrode and thedummy gate electrode; an etching step of forming, on the interlayerinsulating film, a second insulating film covering the floating gateelectrode and exposing the dummy gate electrode, performing etching byusing the second insulating film to remove the dummy gate electrode andthe dummy gate insulating film, and thereby forming a depressed portioninternally of the sidewalls of the dummy gate electrode; a second filmforming step of successively forming, over the entire surface of thesemiconductor substrate, a third insulating film having a relativelysmall thickness and a metal film such that the depressed portion isfilled therewith; and a second patterning step of patterning the secondinsulating film, the third insulating film, and the metal film to form asecond-layer gate insulating film of the flash memory composed of thesecond and third insulating films, a gate insulating film of a FETcomposed of the third insulating film, a control electrode of the flashmemory composed of the metal film, and a gate electrode of the FETcomposed of the metal film.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein theetching step includes the step of removing the dummy gate electrode andthe dummy gate insulating film by wet etching.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the first patterning step includes the step of patterning thepolysilicon film and the first insulating film to form a capacitorinsulating film composed of the first insulating film and a capacitorlower electrode composed of the polysilicon film and the secondpatterning step includes the step of patterning the second insulatingfilm, the third insulating film, and the metal film to form a capacitorinsulating film composed of the second and third insulating films and acapacitor upper electrode composed of the metal film.
 4. A method ofmanufacturing a semiconductor device, the method comprising: a firstfilm forming step of successively forming, on a semiconductor substrate,a first insulating film having a relatively large thickness and amultilayer structure being composed of a lower-layer polysilicon filmand an upper-layer metal film of a refractory metal or a compound of arefractory metal and a patterning step of patterning the multilayerstructure and the first insulating film to form a first gate insulatingfilm, each being composed of the first insulating film, and to form afirst gate electrode of the first FET and a dummy gate electrode, eachbeing composed of the multilayer structure; a sidewall forming step offorming sidewall on each of the first gate electrode and the dummy gateelectrode; an insulating film removing step of depositing an interlayerinsulating film over the entire surface of the semiconductor substrate,removing the portion of the interlayer insulating film overlying thefirst gate electrode and the dummy gate electrode, and thereby exposingthe first gate electrode and the dummy gate electrode; an etching stepof forming, on the interlayer insulating film, a mask pattern coveringthe first gate electrode and exposing the dummy gate electrode,performing etching by using the mark pattern to remove the dummy gateelectrode and the dummy gate insulating film, and thereby forming adepressed portion internally portion internally of the sidewalls of thedummy gate electrode; a second film forming step of successivelyforming, over the entire surface of the semiconductor substrate, asecond insulating film having a relatively small thickness and a metalfilm such that the depressed portion is filled therewith; and a filmremoving step of removing the mark pattern and the portion of the secondinsulating film and the metal film located externally of the depressedportion and thereby forming a second gate insulating film and a secondFET composed of the second insulating film and a second gate electrodeof the second FET composed of the metal film.